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1956 in literature
The year 1956 in literature involved some significant events and new books. Events * Writing under the pseudonym of Emile Ajar, author Romain Gary becomes the only person ever to win the Prix Goncourt twice. *Iris Murdoch marries John Bayley. *Aldous Huxley marries author Laura Archera. *C.S. Lewis marries Joy Gresham. * Finished in 1952, Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street), is first published. * First book in the long-running 87th Precinct series, Cop Hater, is first published, written by Ed McBain *Nineteen-year-old Hunter S. Thompson is arrested for robbery. *Sixteen-year-old Michael Moorcock becomes editor of Tarzan Adventures. *Jorge Luis Borges becomes a professor of literature at the University of Buenos Aires. *Martin Gardner begins his Mathematical Games column in Scientific American. New books *Kingsley Amis - That Uncertain Feeling *Poul Anderson - Planet of No Return *Isaac Asimov - The Naked Sun *James Baldwin - Giovanni's Room *Saul Bellow - Seize the Day *Pierre Berton - The Mysterious North *Alfred Bester - The Stars My Destination (as Tiger! Tiger!) *Anthony Burgess - Time for a Tiger *Pearl S. Buck - Imperial Woman *Albert Camus - The Fall (La Chute) *John Dickson Carr **''Patrick Butler for the Defense'' **''Fear Is the Same'' (as by Carter Dickson) *Agatha Christie - Dead Man's Folly *Arthur C. Clarke - The City and the Stars *A. J. Cronin **''A Thing of Beauty'' **''Crusader's Tomb'' *Philip K. Dick **''The Man Who Japed'' **''The Minority Report'' *Gordon R. Dickson **''Alien From Arcturus'' **''Mankind on the Run'' *Gerald Durrell - My Family and Other Animals *Ian Fleming - Diamonds Are Forever *Romain Gary - Les racines du ciel *William Golding - Pincher Martin *Henri René Guieu - Les Monstres du Néant *Mark Harris - Bang the Drum Slowly *Marguerite Henry - Misty of Chincoteague *Frank Herbert - The Dragon in the Sea *Georgette Heyer - Sprig Muslin *Kathryn Hulme - The Nun's Story *C.S. Lewis **''The Last Battle'' **''Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold'' *Rose Macaulay - The Towers of Trebizond *Ed McBain - Cop Hater *Naguib Mahfouz **''Cairo Trilogy'' **''Palace Walk'' *Grace Metalious - Peyton Place *Nicholas Monsarrat - The Tribe That Lost Its Head *Farley Mowat - Lost in the Barrens *Agnar Mykle - Song of the Red Ruby *Edwin O'Connor - The Last Hurrah *Pier Paolo Pasolini - Ragazzi di vita *Mervyn Peake - Boy in Darkness *Mary Renault - The Last of the Wine *Kenneth Roberts - Boon Island *João Guimarães Rosa - The Devil to Pay in the Backlands (Grande Sertão: Veredas) *Françoise Sagan - A Certain Smile *Samuel Selvon - The Lonely Londoners *Ian Serraillier - The Silver Sword *Irwin Shaw - Lucy Crown *Khushwant Singh - Train to Pakistan *Rex Stout - Might as Well Be Dead *Rex Stout - Three Witnesses *Kay Thompson - Eloise *A.E. van Vogt - The Wizard of Linn *Angus Wilson - Anglo-Saxon Attitudes *P.G. Wodehouse - French Leave *Eiji Yoshikawa - Heike Story New drama * Jean Anouilh - Poor Bitos * Ferdinand Bruckner - The Fight with the Angel * Friedrich Dürrenmatt - The Visit * Günter Grass - Flood * Hugh Leonard - The Birthday Party * Saunders Lewis - Siwan * Arthur Miller - A View from the Bridge (revised version) * Yukio Mishima - Rokumeikan * Heiner Müller - The Scab * Eugene O'Neill - Long Day's Journey into Night * John Osborne - Look Back in Anger * Arnold Wesker - Chicken Soup with Barley (written) * Carl Zuckmayer - The Cold Light Poetry *''Aniara'' - Harry Martinson *''Howl and Other Poems'' - Allen Ginsberg Non-fiction *A. J. Liebling - The Sweet Science *Norman Mailer - The White Negro Births *January 2 - Storm Constantine *March 23 - Steven Saylor, historical novelist *May 4 - David Guterson, journalist and novelist *May 20 - Boris Akunin, novelist and essayist *June 9 - Patricia Cornwell, crime novelist *October 9 - Robert Reed, science fiction author *October 13 - Chris Carter, screenwriter *November 26 - John McCarthy, journalist and kidnap victim *''date unknown'' **James Belich, historian **Amy Gerstler, poet **Alexander Jablokov, American writer and novelist **Jack Womack, novelist Deaths *January 14 - Sheila Kaye-Smith, novelist *January 29 - H L Mencken (b. 1880), writer *January 31 - A.A. Milne, dramatist and children's author *March 30 - Edmund Clerihew Bentley, novelist and inventor of the clerihew *May 20 - Max Beerbohm, humorist *June 22 - Walter de la Mare, poet *July 8 - Giovanni Papini, essayist, poet, novelist *August 14 - Bertolt Brecht, dramatist *September 6 - Michael Ventris, linguist *December 13 - Arthur Grimble, travel writer *December 25 - Robert Walser, novelist Awards * Carnegie Medal for children's literature: C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle * Duff Cooper Prize: Alan Moorehead, Gallipoli * James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: Rose Macaulay, The Towers of Trebizond * James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: St John Greer Ervine, George Bernard Shaw * Newbery Medal for children's literature: Jean Lee Latham, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch * Nobel Prize for literature: Juan Ramón Jiménez * Premio Nadal: José Luis Martín Descalzo, La frontera de Dios * Prix Goncourt: Romain Gary for Les racines du ciel * Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, Diary of Anne Frank * Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: MacKinlay Kantor - Andersonville * Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Elizabeth Bishop: Poems - North & South * Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Edmund Blunden * Category:Years in literature External links Category:History of literature Category:Literature by year